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Re: Azealia Banks

GQ&A: Azealia Banks

"I've been reading a lot of the stuff that people have been saying and I just think, 'You guys - this was just my first try! You might hate me tomorrow...'" Sitting in a west London hotel room wearing a white towelling robe, sparkly Union Jack mini-dress, long brown socks and a pair of electric pink boots, Azealia Banks looks every inch the star. The 20-year-old Harlem rapper is hip-hop's most talked-about new sensation and has been at the centre of an intense industry buzz ever since the release of her first recording, "Seventeen", three years ago. But after releasing one of the biggest and filthiest singles of the year in the form of "212" and topping NME's recent Cool List, 2012 looks set to finally be her year. Curling up beneath her dressing gown, here she explains to GQ.com why Nicki Minaj is just a Lil' Kim tribute act, what made her fall in love with British bands and why you can't beat a bit of Supergrass.

GQ.com: Your outfit is very Geri Halliwell…

Azealia Banks: I've got a Spice Girls thing going on! I just bought this as a gag in Camden Market. My style is if it's clean and together, put it on and go. I'm always up so late trying to pull whatever I can out of my brain, check my e-mails and keep up on my Twitter and my Tumblr.

[B]What was the first song that you were obsessed with?[/B
]
Probably "No, No, No" by Destiny's Child. Oh my God, you could not tell me that I was not going to grow up and be in that group when I saw that. I remember thinking "Who are these girls? Why is her hair pink?" Also do you remember when Aalilyah came out with "Back & Forth"? She was a tomboy. That was my s***.

Can you recommend a good book?

I can, but I feel like I'm just stealing ideas from Jay-Z. I read his book Decoded and in the back he recommends The Seat Of The Soul by Gary Zukav. It's basically about soul versus personality and multi-sensory personality versus the five-sensory personality - the people whose souls operate with spiritual guidance against people who can only see the earth, the beginning and the end. You really find out a lot about yourself when you read that book.

What should every man have in his wardrobe?

I definitely like it when men dress like men. Proper clothes. No offence to any man who's into fashion, but I feel like I'm very into masculinity. I just like loose pants and big shoes - one thing I hate is seeing a guy in a pair of Toms. I'm not really a fan of men in fancy materials. I like guys who buy stuff that they can just put in the washing machine and put on, who aren't so shiny, you know?

What do you think of the Nicki Minaj comparisons?

It's not something that I particularly like, but it's something that I understand. It's just people making sense of things. If you listen to BOB. for the first time, you might think, "He sounds like André 3000". If you eat sorbet for the first time, you might think, "Oh, this is like ice cream but there's no milk in it."

Re: Azealia Banks

Rising MC/singer*Azealia Banks*has signed to Universal Music. The 20 yr. old Harlem native announced her deal today (Wed., Jan. 18) onTwitter. "God just dealt me a new hand today I reaaaaaaaaaaallllly good hand [sic]," Azealia tweeted. "I am now officially signed to Universal Music."

The "212" rapper was formerly signed to XL Recordings, but the partnership ended unceremoniously. Banks then made her struggles with XL public, admitting to*Contact Music, "It was almost the day I signed to XL that they started checking out. There were a good seven to eight months where I was just sending them texts and no-one would say anything or pick up the phone or respond to my emails. Nothing. And it started to ruin me."
*
Banks also dropped some hints on the release date of her upcoming debut album,*tweeting, "Album in May? June possibly?" She is set to perform at Coachella in April and will kick off a U.K. tour on Feb. 7.

Re: Azealia Banks

Nicola Formichetti's third Mugler menswear show walked in Paris yesterday, and here's an exclusive video taken from six different cameras positioned backstage, on the runway, and even carried down the catwalk by one of the models. You can also hear the show's complete soundtrack for the first time (unless you were actually there, of course), cut not by Gaga (surprise!) but by rapper*Azealia Banks. According to Mugler's publicist, Banks was shot by Inez & Vinoodh for*V magazine just last week, and signed with Univerasal yesterday. So, congrats to her! Watch the video to see sparkly magenta suits, attentive audience members, shirtless male models, and Nicola himself jogging around backstage.

Re: Azealia Banks

Azealia Banks LIVE at Karl Lagerfeld's house in Paris

To celebrate his line with Net-a-Porte, appropriately called Karl, Mr. Lagerfeld welcomed a select few people to his house for dinner. I was not part of that crew, but I did sneak in with the evening's entertainment, the fierce, fabulous and foul-mouthed Azealia Banks. She performed after the guests had been presented with dessert: an iPod bearing the silhouette of the Kaiser himself. This is a recording of her performance.

Re: Azealia Banks

Azealia Banks is set to embark on an 11-date headline tour of the UK in September and October.

The dates follow her sold out show at Heaven later this month (February 27), her NME Awards Tour appearances and also the release of her debut EP, '212', on March 25, which will be out on Polydor Records. The EP will feature the track '212', as well as 'Liquorice' and a number of new remixes.

Last night at the Grammys, Adele's '21' co-writer strongly hinted that he is working on a collaboration between Lana Del Rey and Azealia Banks. Billboard reports that Ryan Tedder, who has also written for the likes of Beyonce and Leona Lewis, let slip that he was penning a track for the 'Video Games' songstress and '212' rapper.

Re: Azealia Banks

AZEALIA BANKS’ DEBUT EP, 1991,
OUT DIGITALLY MAY 29 WITH
PHYSICAL RELEASE TO FOLLOW JUNE 12

Interscope/Polydor recording artist Azealia Banks will release her EP 1991 digitally on May 29 with a physical version to follow on June 12.
Banks, the 20-year-old rapper/singer from Harlem, topped NME’s Cool List and ranked in the Top 3 of the BBC Sounds of 2012 poll.
“What’s fresh about Banks is how she combines audacious charisma with lyrical naughtiness and genre hopscotching,” said Interview while V Magazine observed: “Her rapid-fire, crystalline raps are astounding in their elasticity, punctuated with clever puns, one-liners, and taunting, confrontational raunch.”

Banks’ video for “212 (featuring Lazy Jay)” already has more than 15 million views. You can check it out at:

SPIN called “212” a “dizzyingly addictive throwdown” while W noted: “when she’s not spewing taunts, she’s singing with all the depth and prowess of an R&B star.” “‘212’ works because its popcraft and its shock tactics are each other's Trojan horses -- concentrate on one and the other sneaks up on you,” said Pitchfork.com. “But the more you dig into the song, the more you can hear details and decisions that suggest a scary degree of pop talent.”
She is currently recording her full-length debut album, which is due out in the fall.

Re: Azealia Banks

Azealia Banks' new song, BBD (Bad Bitches Do-It)

"BBD" isn't the first official single from Banks' upcoming album, Broke With Expensive Taste, per the artist herself. Rather, she tweets, the single will be titled "Miss Amor," backed with a B-side called "Miss Camaraderie."

Re: Azealia Banks Faggot Gate 2013

oh banks darling youre better than this.

im all for "reclaiming", and at least shes queer. but shes not reclaiming here, shes using it as a slur. which is some very thin ice to be treading on.

her subsequent explanation is even worse. firstly, thats not what "faggot" means. secondly, whats wrong with a male "acting like a female" (whatever that means)? thats not hairsplitting about semantics anymore, thats homophobia right there.

i feel like i have wasted too much time on this bullshit already... but i really like banks. her music rocks!

Re: Azealia Banks Faggot Gate 2013

You know I hate to say this, and lord only knows I do,since I am not a rap fan,but that Banks girl got a point.And it's valid, and it's major. The gay community,especially little young white boys, have no qualms using the word bitch,hoe,cunt,and nigga, but let someone that is not Gay drop the word that rhymes with maggot all hell breaks loose. I do not understand, and let me also point out that gay men can be real sexist towards women.